Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation announced it will invest $97 million to expand manufacturing capacity at its Kernersville, N.C. operations. Deere-Hitachi expects to hire an additional 340 fulltime employees over the next four years to support the expansion.
Deere-Hitachi's North Carolina facility builds several models of mid-sized excavators sold throughout North, Central and South America. This $97 million investment will increase capacity on current machine models manufactured in Kernersville and add production capability for additional mid-sized excavator models.
"Through this investment, we will increase our manufacturing capacity and flexibility and better serve our customers with the products they want - when they want them," said Al Seeba, president and CEO, Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation. "The overall market for excavators remains quite strong and customer demand for the high-quality Deere and Hitachi-branded machines manufactured by our employees in Kernersville continues to grow. We believe the time is right to further invest in our North Carolina facility."
Deere-Hitachi will purchase approximately 60 acres of land adjacent to its facility, purchase a warehouse that will be expanded for manufacturing and warehouse space, and expand its existing factory with state of the art technology. Once the improvements are complete, Deere-Hitachi will have increased manufacturing capacity for excavators by 60 percent.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce, Forsyth County, and City of Kernersville have agreed to provide incentives to help advance this project and the jobs it will create. In applying for consideration under state and local programs, Deere-Hitachi committed to retain current jobs, create an additional 340 fulltime jobs and invest $97 million in capital as outlined above.
"This investment will have a significant positive impact on the state of North Carolina, providing additional employment opportunities for Deere-Hitachi as well as many of our North Carolina-based suppliers," Seeba said.
